Cinder-Canary
by xXxAngelStormxXx
Summary: Themed and inspired by Disney's Cinderella, with Sara Lance as the main character.
1. Sara

Everyday had become long and tiring ever since that one horrible day, the worst day I can ever recall in my life. My family had taken our modest carriage out, and were taking a small journey out to Centralia, but we made a wrong turn through the streets of Starling and ended up passing through the Glades. While they used to be beautiful, they were mostly now crime ridden. I had huddled myself closer to my older sister Laurel, and she whispered reassurances to me as I peered out the window with wide eyes.

Something happened and we were attacked. In the attack we were separated, and the next time I woke up I was alone. Well, until I was found by a family. Since my own family was missing, and we were attacked they presumed them to be dead and decided to take me in. How could I, as a child, have known this to be anything other than a kind gesture?

My life crumbled, and I was not treated as kindly as I had expected. In fact, I was treated more like a servant, sleeping in the dust and dirt, taking care of their messes, cooking, cleaning. Everything.

Today was like any other day I'd since then. I rose before the sun to complete my long list of daily chores and responsibilities, unlike my new 'family'. The mother and daughters slept soundly in their beds, and when they woke they rang their annoying little bells like mad, calling for breakfast in bed.

Like clockwork, just as I finished preparing the food, the bells began to ring. After so long I had timed out and begun to expect when they would rise. It made the task just that much easier, and I received less anger as they weren't waiting longer than a few moments. With a sigh, I load up the trays and bound up the stairs, two at a time. Setting a tray down I knock on the first door, signaling my arrival. "Come in." I hear her voice drawl, and quickly enter the room with only one of the trays. "Good morning Madame." I greet her softly as I bring the breakfast to her bed, setting it on the large table immediately next to it. "Shall I open the drapes for you?" I ask, stepping away and holding my hands together in front of me obediently.

"Yes." She rolled her eyes and I quickly stride over, pulling open the drapes to let light into the room. "Now go deliver the girls their breakfast." She tells me, a bored tone to her voice as she picks a slice of apple off her tray.

"Yes Madame." I bow my head and in moments I am out the door and in front of theirs, food trays in hand. Balancing one on my head I knock once more. Receiving no answer, I call out softly, "Madison? Maureen? I have breakfast."

That elicits a response and I am screamed at to enter. Rolling my eyes, I open the door and bring the food to them. Keeping my face neutral, I ask them the same question as I asked their mother. As I do every morning, the drapes. To my dismay, they speak at the same time with different answers.

"No." Madison crinkles her nose.

"Yes." Maureen nods a confirmation.

"Uh." I swallow, not wanting this to turn to be my fault somehow. "What if I open them just a little?" I ask, trying for compromise.

"No." Madison groans, "They stay closed!"

"I want them open!" Maureen whines, turning to her sister.

"Um." I pause as they continue to argue. "How about you ring the bell when you come to an agreement?" I try asking, hoping to slip away. They don't seem to have heard me so I begin to back away slowly. Once I am free of that room, I let out a breath before hurrying back outside to get a horse. I have errands that need to be run after all.


	2. Announcement at the Square

Unfortunately, it doesn't take me long to get through all of my errands. I sigh as I finish loading everything up, attaching it to the saddle. Before I can get in the saddle a commotion catches my attention and I follow the crowd, dodging arms until I decide to just get out and climb onto a rooftop. It is a much safer perch and I have full view of the town square where I can see some official royal criers. Apparently, they must have some new for us common folk or something.

Thankfully the crowd quiets some as one steps forward. "Hear ye, hear ye." He bellows, "The Royal family has announced that in a fortnight a ball is to be held at the castle in welcoming of the visiting royalty." People begin whispering loudly, and the collective sound is loud. "And- "He continues loudly, "At the behest of the prince, all will be welcome to attend." The volume increases before he even finishes the last word and the voices melt and blend into a buzz in my ears.

The thought runs through my head, wondering which royal family is visiting Starling. While I ponder this, and the announcement, I swiftly sneak back down and only moments later an official looking envelope is shoved into my hands. I blink in surprise, watching as the man continues to shove these envelopes into waiting hands. Holding it tightly I fight my way back out of the crowd and to the horse, which thankfully still has everything I had picked up earlier attached to the saddle.

Stopping I take a breath and look at it again before tucking it safely away into my small bag. This ought to be interesting at the very least. I'm sure that the Madame will do everything she can to flaunt both Maureen and Madison in front of the prince. She stops at nothing to gain more; more status, more wealth, more power. I sigh as I take off towards the manor, already feeling sorry for the poor boy. He may have to deal with the two rude girls and their mother.

* * *

It doesn't take me long to arrive back, and for a moment I wonder if I should even tell them. Sliding out of the saddle I gather my things and take care of the horse before dragging everything inside. I'm in the middle of putting it away and gathering the tea for the brats when the bells ring and they scream for me.

Tray balanced in hand I pause by the table, looking at my small bag. With a silent groan, I pull out the letter. If I did not give it to them now, they would find out from somewhere else and I would be heavily punished.

Schooling my face to keep it as blank and void of my emotional turmoil as possible I make my way through the door. The china clinks softly as I set the tray down on the low table in between the couches. "For you Madame." I offer the envelope to her and she looks at me in disgust before taking it. As I begin pouring tea and distributing it she silently reads it, her eyes bulging out of her head and breathing heavy.

"A ball! A ball!" she exclaims happily, "Finally, this is our chance my girls!"

"A ball!" The two teens cry out in unison, "tell us more mother!" Madison clasps her hands together. "Yes, please!" Maureen agrees with her for once.

Madame clears her throat before speaking, "The ball is to be held in a fortnight, at the castle of course. It is a welcoming ball for the visiting royals, they don't have a son though so they don't matter." She wrinkles her nose, writing them off, "but our King and Queen are hoping to find suitable partners for the Prince!" Her happiness seems to be short lived, "Oh." She says, a look of distaste on her face. "The theme is warrior, in honor of the visiting kingdom."

"Warrior?" I tilt my head, interested now in the prospect. "That sounds quite intriguing for a theme." I find myself smiling a little, more and more curious now.

She glares at me, "Just go have the seamstresses begin to take up three costumes." My shoulders slump just the slightest as I realize there is no way she is asking for one to be made up for me. "Now!" She nearly screams and I turn on my heel, nearly fleeing the room to go straight back into the town.


	3. Getting Ready for the Ball

Over the coming days Madison, Maureen, and their mother are worse than usual, just insufferable. The night before the ball I finally fall into my old chair in the attic, picking up the old fabric I'd been mending and altering. I'd become a quite adept seamstress over the years. It was how my own old rags still fit me, although they were full of patches.

I didn't realize how long I'd been working until the sun shone through my windows and I blinked in surprise at the sounds of bells tinkling like mad.

"OH NO!" I dropped my project onto the bed and bolted down the stairs, "OH NO OH NO OH NO." I quickly put together a breakfast, and as luck would have it the water is still warm enough for tea. Perfect, won't be burning hot at least. Can't be yelled at for that.

"SARA!" I heard the scream come from upstairs and winced, "I'm coming." I called out as I ran up the stairs.

To my surprise I find them all together, their costumes laid out and ready to put on after they were primped and dolled up for the ball. "What?" I didn't get to ask my question and they waved off the breakfast.

"What are you thinking you stupid girl, no time for breakfast, we need to get Maureen and Madison ready for the ball to impress the Prince and the royal family." Their mother said hotly.

"I apologize Madame." I set it down to the side and step forward to help them get ready, repressing a sigh.

It takes hours to scrub them clean, curl and perfect their hair, paint their faces with makeup and get them into their costumes.

They had chosen to have dresses, ball gown dresses really, for their costumes. They didn't fit the warrior theme, but I suppose not everyone would. Finally, they were ready, and with a small amount of time to spare. Moving fast I rushed up to my dingy attic and pulled on the black costume dress I had been reconstructing.

Not bothering to do anything else besides brush my hair out I fly down the steps, pausing when I see them standing there staring at me coming down.

"Madame!" I greet, out of breath. "I was wondering, since all my chores are finished, if perhaps I could come to the ball as well. It was addressed for everyone to attend after all." I ask, and seeing a flash of something in her eyes I am hopeful that she will be kinder than she usually is.


	4. Fairy Godmother'

Instead of answering me they began laughing and I faltered once more as I walked down the steps. I open my mouth to ask why they're laughing but they've already turned and, so I follow them out the door.

"Madame?" I ask softly, my hope waning.

"As if we'd want you to come with us Sara, just look at you. All filthy and in those hideous rags. We couldn't possibly be seen with you." She laughs haughtily, and I flush with anger. She didn't have any right to treat me this way.

Taking a deep breath, I'm about to respond when Maureen reaches over. "Look at that shoddy workmanship." She smirks, "I mean, it's practically coming apart at the seams." With a hard pull she rips my sleeve before I realize what she's doing.

"Yeah." Madison smirks as she looks me over, walking around me so she can see, before she rips into the skirt of my dress.

"Poor Sara, even more of a mess than before." Their mother gives an exaggerated sigh, "You'll want to fix that before you even consider going to the ball."

They climb into the carriage, looking triumphant as they do. I look down to my ripped dress, assessing the damage they did, and I figure I could easily fix it up and still make it to the ball for a while. I'm so busy looking at it that I don't hear the carriage coming back around, and suddenly the wheel hits a bump and mud covers me from head to toe.

With a gasp I brush mud out of my face as I hear their obnoxious laugher trailing away.

There was no way I'd be able to fix this now. I bite into my cheek as I run down the road, and to the beautiful lakeside that is close by. It's so beautiful there, and it's where I was found after being separated from my family.

I collapse next to the water, finally crying. I've been holding it all in way too long. I miss my family, I miss the life I should have had, the love I should have felt from them, the good things that I know I've been robbed of. I'd have been better off not being found by this horrid woman and her daughters.

"Are you all right?" I hear a soft voice ask from behind me.

Sniffling, I turn around and through bleary eyes I see a small girl, about my height with long brown hair. She's dressed in fine clothes, and I can only assume she comes from a wealthy family. "I'll manage I suppose." I sigh, wiping my eyes.

"What happened?" She tilts her head, "If you don't mind me asking of course." She hurriedly adds on.

"When I was a child my family was attacked, and I lost them. I don't know where they are or if they're even still alive. This woman found me, and I thought I was safe. But she's been a witch to me all these years, she treats me so horridly and tonight denied me from attending the ball." I'm surprised at myself for sharing this with as stranger.

To my surprise she kneels next to me. "Why don't you come stay with me?" She offers, "I'll help you try to find your family. And if we can't find them, at least you'll be out of that dreadful house."

"I'd like that." I whisper.

She seems to hesitate for a moment before saying, "Call me Dearden."

"Dearden? What a pretty name. Mine is Sara."

"Well Sara, let's go change your life!" She smiles brightly, "Come, I have extra costumes in my carriage. You wanted to go to the ball? Well, now you're going!" She grabs my arm and pulls me along with more strength than you would think the small girl would have.

I gape at her as she draws the window curtains shut and pulls out costume items as we get moving.

"Well now, don't just sit there staring." She giggles, "Let's get you ready!"

Soon she has me outfitted in a wonderful creamy white costume. It has two pant legs that have X's down them and a tight fitted bodice that has a halter. It's textured, not quite leathery, and very comfortable. At the waist it has two skirt-like pieces of fabric, one on each side of me. They flare out from my body just a little and aren't sewn together in back. The fabric reaches to around my knees, and I find myself loving the look more than an ordinary dress. The costume has an over jacket, whose bottom hem sits right above the flares.

With precision she fixes my hair and face before slipping a small mask on me. "A mask?" I murmur my question while she paints my lips.

"Yes, a mask. Not only does it look fabulous with the costume, that horrid woman and her daughters won't recognize you if they can't see your face." Dearden grins mischievously at me and I find myself grinning back.

"Dearden that's genius!" I exclaim before sobering up. "Really, thank you so much." I look down to my lap, "You didn't have to do anything for me, still don't, and yet you're helping me. Why?"

"Because I saw someone in need, because I want to, because I feel like we'll be great friends." She lists, "There are so many reasons why I want to help you Sara, you didn't deserve the life you had. I'm glad I can help, and I will help you if only you let me."


	5. The Ball

The ride to the castle is shorter than I would have thought possible, and Dearden easily keeps the conversation flowing. I smile gratefully at the girl who's just changed my life and only just met me less than an hour ago.

We step out from the carriage and I have the opportunity to fully look at her. Dearden is outfitted in a deep red costume, bearing some similarity to mine. Hers has black ties that make X's going up the center of the bodice and down along the outside of the coat sleeves, the ends of the string hang loosely from the edge of the sleeves and bodice. Her coat is short around her torso, is very bolero-like. She too wears somewhat flowy pants and has skirts that poof out just below the bodice, but her skirt-pieces flow all the way around her sides and back, leaving the from exposed, and are nearly floor-length.

"Oh," she quickly reaches past me and grabs herself a mask. "You're not the only one who's going to wear a mask! I know some others, but I'm not going to let you walk in there without someone else also wearing a mask." She waves it in the air as she speaks before securing it to her head.

Finally, I look to the castle behind her, and just stare. "Wow." I breathe the word, "This place is…" I trail off, not finding a good enough word to describe it. "it's just…"

"Beautiful." She supplies, with a nod, "Well, we don't want to just stand out here all night! Let's get you to the ball!" She exclaims before grabbing my hand and eagerly pulling me along once more.

Inside it is even more beautiful and decorated. Oh, the decorations. They were perfect, it was elegant and ball-like, yet there were still things about the costumes that almost everyone wore that helped tie in the theme.

"C'mon!" Dearden giggles, and I blindly follow her through the crowd, letting her be my guide even as I distractedly take it all in. We find ourselves near the center rim of the wide circle, and I realize it's time for the first dance. Who would the prince choose? The visiting Princess perhaps? It made sense after all, the King and Queen were hoping to find a suitable wife for their son and I assume the visiting kingdom would be doing the same for their daughter.

Dearden is clutching my arm excitedly as we watch the prince, who was also wearing a mask and I make a mental note to ask her later if masks were common to wear to balls. The prince wears green, and has a bow and arrow slung across his shoulders and back. He is looking across the room, eyes passing over the faces of everyone in the circle, but he doesn't seem to be finding whomever he is looking for.

"Who is he looking for?" I whisper in her ear, just as his eyes light up and he begins walking in our direction. My back stiffens as he approaches with a smile. When the prince stops in front of us, I am relieved he is not looking at me, but the girl who had just come up next to me.

The girl next to us is beautiful. She has long golden blonde hair, and her costume is black. The bodice has a sweetheart neckline and there is a skirt that goes behind her and is almost petal-like in design, it reaches her knees. Her pants are a little tighter, but still flowy like ours are and she wears elbow length gloves. A mask obscures part of her face as well.

Taking her hand, he kisses the back of it and murmurs something to her, and she lets out a breath, a slight laugh. "Care to dance Pretty Bird?" I manage to hear what he says this time, even though they are right in front of me I am still surprised by my inability to hear before. "Of course, my Emerald Archer." She responds with a teasing smile before accepting his arm and allowing him to lead her to the center of the circle. They wait for the music, and with the firs beat they are moving elegantly and in sync.

A man, also wearing red like Dearden and has a bow and arrow just like the prince, comes up next to us and offers his arm to her. "How would you feel about a dance, Speedy?" He smiles crookedly in a way that I can tell she finds charming. She spares me a glance and I give her a nod. "I'd love to, Arsenal." She replies in kind with some kind of code-name. I grin as I watch her be whisked off to join the prince and his partner on the floor. I clap along with those around me as they move, finding their place in the fast beat.

"You seem to have been left all alone." A woman's voice startles me and I turn to the source. I am met with a woman who is a little taller than me, with long black hair and striking eyes. She too wears a mask, although hers is different. It is sheer fabric draped across the bridge of her nose, hiding the bottom half of her face from clear view and she had a hood up over her head. Her costume was very armor like and had flowy and draping fabric across the bodice that came out beneath the corset and were draped over her shoulder. Unlike Dearden and Sara, she did not have any skirts added around her waist, but her pant legs were very wide.

"I am Warith Alshaytan." She tilts her head and I scramble to come up with my own code-name. After a few moments of her waiting patiently, I come up with something. "Call me White Canary." I blurt out, and she smiles. "White Canary, it is a pleasure to meet you." Then she does something I'm not expecting. She takes my hand and although she is wearing a veil, she places a kiss to the back. Something flutters in my stomach, and I find I like the feeling. "Care to dance, White Canary?"

 **NOTE: i** **'m sure you can all guess who that new mystery woman is. If you don't, then this is probably a good hint.** **(Warith Alshaytan. Google translate says that is what 'heir to the demon' is in Arabic.)**


	6. Garden Walks

With Warith Alshaytan, I happily dance, swirling to the music as she leads us around the floor. We flow as one, and I am surprised by my own skill. Warith Alshaytan's movements are graceful and lithe, and I find myself impressed more and more with every beat, every measure that passes.

As the song comes to a close we part and bow to each other, as do the other couples who had danced with us. Reaching out she captures my hand in hers before kissing the back of it through her veil. "It has been a pleasure dancing with you, White Canary. Would you perhaps join me for some air in the gardens? I have yet to explore much of the castle grounds."

"I should be delighted." My heart pounds out of my chest and we link out arms together as we move off of the dance floor. A cursory glance tells me that Dearden will be fine, she catches my eye and waves me off, seemingly pleased with me. I smile as her attention is drawn back to Arsenal, the man in red who she had danced with. Easily we weave through the crowd, and they pay us no mind as we leave the grand ballroom behind.

The gardens are spectacular, and I look around in wonder as we begin to walk. "Oh, this is absolutely magnificent! I've never seen such a well-tended and beautiful garden." I admit with a sheepish smile.

"Then you should see the gardens at Nanda Parbat." She tilts her head, her eyes filled with mirth as she observes me.

"I should love to." We share a smile as we come upon a large tree with a swing attached. I laugh as I release her arm and pull myself onto the swing. "You are adorable." She lets out a small laugh, what I might almost describe as a giggle. "Here." She gently grips my waist, draws me back, and begins to push me. I laugh blissfully, relishing the feel of the evening air on my face and her steady hands as they catch and push me gently.

I look up to the stars and slowly stop. "Is something wrong?" she touches my shoulder and I shake my head. "No, nothing. I was just thinking how tonight an absolute dream has been." I tap the space next to me on the large bench of the swing. "Come sit with me?"

Instead of going around the bench she holds the ropes and pulls herself up and over so that she is sitting next to me, facing the same direction. "Show off." I tease, giving her a poke in the ribs. "Only for you." She teases back and I find myself staring into her eyes, my laughter cut off when we looked at each other.


End file.
